flock are kept at a loss, as it will cost two dollars per head a year, usually, to keep them, and with wool at present prices you cannot get pay for food consumed. Salt the sheep a little at a time, and often, for best results.

Don't leave them out in the cold rains of winter. Generally, I think it best to let them have the run of a small pasture every day, if they prefer, but be sure to have them in the yard before dark every night and keep them shut in until the morning feed is eaten.

The barns or sheds should be fourteen feet wide and one foot long for each sheep kept, with racks made in sections each fourteen feet long. The feed troughs should be of two boards, one foot wide and nailed together, with pieces fitted at the ends; these should be a little less than fourteen feet long. The racks should be two feet wide, with posts of two by four inches at the corners. The bottom board should be one foot wide, and set two inches from the floor with one foot space, and then the top board of ten or twelve inches. I am careful about the dimensions, as they are of consequence when the time for caring for lambs comes. These racks should be placed lengthwise of the stable, close together, so as to form one continuous rack. This leaves room when they are feeding for others to go by without crowding.

The troughs for grain should be outdoors. There should be a door at least six feet wide to the stable. Feed the sheep grain and then shut the door. Put hay in the racks and open the door. Do this at the same times, twice every day. Shelled corn, oats and bran make a good ration. One pint per head a day will keep them in good condition if they have good hay, or cut cornstalks once and hay once. They should have good water and plenty of it, without having to go far for it.

Carrots are an excellent feed and I have raised nine hundred bushels on one acre. But with bran at ten or twelve dollars a ton, I think it is a cheaper feed, if you have to hire much of the work done, and it answers every purpose.

I would buy a good ram that was as nearly perfect as could be found, and when the time for breeding came, would try to have some fresh feed to turn them in, as the lambs will come nearer together and be more vigorous, two things greatly to be desired.

Winter lambs do not pay here, as we have no market for them, and it costs too much to raise them for the ordinary prices they bring. Last year I had five sheep that had seven lambs. They got so that they would eat twenty quarts of grain a day. I sold them before grass came at three dollars apiece, that being all I could get.

I think the best time to have lambs come is in the middle of March, as then you will be through by the 10th of April, when one usually commences the spring work.

You need a good, warm stable. I prefer to have the sheep shed connected with the cow barn, and as fast as the lambs are dropped, put them into the cow barn for at least twenty-four hours. I have some panels made to put from rack to side of barn, making pens three by six feet, so that sheep can eat from the rack. These are easily put in place and easily taken away. They should be so made that lambs cannot get from one to the other. Every sheep that has twins should be placed in such a pen and kept there for at least twenty-four hours.

If a lamb gets chilled, take it to the house and put it into warm water, keeping the water at an even temperature for two minutes; give it a teaspoonful of whisky; rub dry with a cloth, keeping it near the stove, and give it some milk as soon as it will take it, then take it back to the sheep. All sheep having single lambs should be by themselves and the sheep with the young lambs may be put together as soon as the lambs have nursed once. You may make this flock as large as convenient, but the places containing sheep having twins, should be gradually enlarged and not more than ten or fifteen sheep should be put together until the lambs are two or three weeks old.

I would change every male lamb from four days to four weeks old. When the lambs are three or four days old, give the sheep more grain, about a quart a day, and be sure to make a place for the lambs to eat, separate from the sheep. Their feed should be of the same kind of grain, and should be kept where the lambs can get it at will. These troughs should be cleaned once a day.

When the lambs are being dropped you should see the sheep the last thing before going to bed and the first thing in the morning, and get up once in the night to look at them. If you find a sheep that you are sure will lamb before you see her again, put her in one of the pens, and generally no harm will result.

Try every sheep and see that she gives milk on both sides. If there is not milk enough, you should have a bottle with a rubber nipple and help out. Take your bottle to the cow and milk in it. Put on the nipple and feed the lamb at once. Don't let the milk get cold; don't put anything in it. A common lemon extract bottle of milk will keep a lamb five or six hours.

You would better keep the lambs and sheep under cover all the time for the first two or three weeks

The fourteen-foot racks, placed crosswise of the stable, will make the different pens. The fourteen-foot troughs can be placed inside the racks for grain.

Clean the stable before the lambs begin to come. About the 10th of April let the sheep and lambs out for a short time, and gradually put more together. Have a field of rye close to the barn, where the sheep may be turned through the night, until good pasture comes, and let this place be so arranged that the sheep may get under cover during storms. Last year 1 bred fifty sheep and raised eighty lambs. Every sheep raised a lamb, and every lamb was a good one. The year previous to that I bied one hundred and thirty sheep and raised two hundred lambs. When you get two hundred lambs in one barn and preserve their identity, when one hundred and forty of them are twins, you probably will learn that all these minor things are of importance. I think March is the best time to have lambs come, because they are ready for the young grass when it comes. They need the most pasture when pasture is most abundant. You can sell them by July when flies, hot weather and drought come and when sheep spend their time in fence corners or shade. The sheep have time to recruit before winter, and you can cull the flock and sell the culls for fat sheep before winter by giving them a good chance.

Tag the sheep
See the sheep

Nearly all of this is done with grass, the cheapest of all feeds. before turning on grass and shear as soon as settled weather comes. as often as you can and make friends with them. It is a good thing to change pasture once in a while, if many are kept in one flock. Don't try to keep lambs that are coming one year old with older sheep during the winter. There are three hings that are hard on the flock owners-dogs, thieves and adverse legislation.

HOGS.

By EDWARD ARMSTRONG, Richwood, O.

[Read at the Farmers' Institute held at Richwood, Union County, February 19 and 20, 1897.]

Farming without hogs is like running an engine without a safety valve, for it is a well known fact that a hog is one of the most profitable animals raised on the farm, and considering the low prices of horses, sheep and wool, and the vast numbers of cattle raised in the west-we cannot profitably raise cattle on our high priced lands, and compete with western cattlemen-we must look about us for something

we can raise with profit. Raising hogs, in large herds, has been tried by some of the western ranchmen, who have started with from fifty to one hundred brood sows, expecting to supply the world with pork, but in most cases these ventures have proven disastrous, as large numbers of hogs herded together, unless given the best of care and attention, will not thrive, and, if disease strikes a herd of this kind, heavy loss, and often financial ruin, stares the owner in the face; and, until there is an absolute cure discovered for hog cholera, swine plague, etc., the business of raising hogs will still be profitable to the Ohio farmer. Culture means to improve and, as my subject covers culture, I will try to givea few points on the breeding and care of hogs, and hope this question may be well discussed by intelligent farmers and hog breeders here to-day, that by so doing we may help each other.

I will not discuss this question from the stand point of a breeder of thoroughbred hogs, but will assume that the most of the farmers here raise market hogs; and it is of hogs raised for the market we will talk, although I breed nothing but thoroughbred Poland Chinas. I buy a good many hogs to feed for market and it is surprising the number of down right "ornery" scrubs one sees in picking up a bunch of feeding hogs, and I get them too sometimes; why, I have some in the feed yards now, that I got in November, that are a little better than when I got them, and you would not be surpised if you could see the sires and dams that produced them. I wonder why men will breed such trash, when well bred stock can be bought of reliable breeders at prices so low, that the breeding of thoroughbred hogs, to be sold for breeders, has almost ceased to be profitable.

Now, if you are to cultivate hogs, start right by getting the right kind of stock, of the breed you may prefer. I am not going to insist that the Poland China is the best hog on earth (although I believe he is), for if I did, these farmers would likely disagree with me; but what I mean is this: if you are going to raise hogs and expect to make a good profit on what you feed them, you must build on a good foundation. A good many farmers are cross breeding Chester Whites with Poland Chinas, Jersey Red or Berkshires, and I know I have handled some very excellent hogs of these breeds; but the trouble with a good many men is that they don't study the antecedents or the makeup of the sows they use, but think because a sow is white she is all right to mate with a Poland China or Berkshire, while the chances are she is all wrong. We know the market conditions have changed, and that cottolene, and like products have made a decreased demand for lard hogs, and the light, smooth hogs are selling for the most per pound, and the big three hundred and four hundred-pound hogs are not "in it." What we want to breed is a hog that can be reared at the least expense and sell for the most money. One man remarked to me last spring, "my old white sow has twelve pigs, and they are dandies." I think I have some of those same "dandies" in my feed yards now, and I expect to get them ready for market next spring after grass comes.

Now, brother farmers, why not get rid of your old, long bodied, slab sided sows, with legs as big as a yearling calf, and go to raising something the shippers want to buy? If you wish to cross the Chester White with the Poland China or Berkshire, go to some reliable breeder of Chesters and select a sow with a view of producing the ideal market hog. Select a sow of great depth, rather than length of body; in short, a typical improved Chester. See that she stands square on her toes, has a good eye and a quick ear, a good wide nostril and breathes freely, and has at least ten good teats; inquire how many pigs in litter, and if less than six, don't buy her; for my experience teaches me that a sow from a small litter usually produces small litters, and one from a large litter usually makes a satisfactory brood sow, I want to say here, don't let a few dollars stand in the way, if you find what you want. Don't expect a breeder who has spent years and been to great expense in building up a herd of hogs to a high standard of excellence- -I say don't expect him to sell you a pig at pork prices, but be willing to pay him a fair price, and if the breeder

cares for his reputation, you will get the worth of your money. I will not weary you farther on this line but will proceed to the care and management of the sow and pigs we expect to produce.

I think the time to cominence feeding pigs is about four months before they are farrowed, by feeding the sow liberally on such food as will satisfy her hunger and will not make her too fat and at the same time nourish the embryo pigs. A good feed is corn, oats and wheat bran. I feed a good many sugar beets and find they answer the same purpose. This will keep the sow in nice, healthy condition and enable her to bring forth a litter of fine, healthy pigs and will give her a good flow of milk, which will start them on their way toward Cleveland or Buffalo. Feed the sow lightly for a few days after farrowing, increasing the amount gradually until she is on full feed. When the little chaps begin to run around lively, fix a place where they can eat by themselves, and give them a little soaked wheat or corn, and they will soon learn to eat, and when two months old can safely be weaned; then they should have a slop made of ground corn, oats and middlings, with a little soaked corn once a day, gradually increasing the corn until they are ready for market. Of course, if you have a good clover pasture, they will do well without the slop, but, by feeding a variety, they will eat more and do better. Look out for pools of stagnant water in your pasture, for in them lies the enemy of the hog breeder, hog cholera. See that your hogs have plenty of pure water, and that they do not have too far to travel for it on hot days. I believe if the farmers would use proper care in selecting their breeding stock, and let their young sows be properly matured before mating, say at least nine months old, our hogs would have more vitality and vigor and be better able to stand an epidemic, and have a better chance of escaping. I believe, in nearly every case, an outbreak of the swine plague will be found to have started in some herd where the owner has utterly disregarded the sanitary condition of his hogs, allowing them to sleep around old straw piles without other shelter, and I think these filthy nests are the "hot beds" in which the germs of hog cholera are bred. These hogs become diseased and pass it on, aud soon the dread disease sweeps a neighborhood. It is a good plan to keep a mixture of salt, lime and ashes, with a little copperas, in a convenient place for hogs; see the little pigs take plenty of exercise, keep them free from lice and worms, treat your hogs kindly, get acquainted with them, rub them occasionally so they won't be afraid of you, then, if necessary, you can go into a pen at farrowing time with no danger of leaving a part of your trousers for the old sow to make a nest of. Hogs that have been handled quietly and been treated kindly, are very little trouble to load when you want to take them to market. No need to worry two or three pounds off each one of them, and perhaps kill one or two before getting them in the wagon. This paper is now too long, but I do want to emphasize the fact that it is a shame and a disgrace the way some farmers treat their hogs, and yet, there is no farm animal that will respond more quickly to kind treatment, and, if we are going to breed the market hog, his life at best will be a short one, so let us make it as pleasant for him as we can,

THE PROFITABLE HOG.

By M. C. THOMAS.

[Read at the Farmers' Institute, held at Cable, Champaign County, December 2 and 3, 1896.] Without an exception the United States stands in the foremost rank in the production of pork. Yet we hear the hog spoken of in unfavorable terms by some. noted writer has said the hog was "the animal into which the devil went and from which he never returned."

A

Again we hear him spoken of in more favorable terms. In New England and the Middle States where the farms are small, he is "the squealer that pays the taxes." In the great corn belt of the prairies the hog is relied upon to pay the interest upon the mortgage and eventually to lift it, and even in Ireland, the hog is termed "the little grunter what pays the rint."

If a person will notice the stock of hogs some farmers keep and the manner in which they are kept, he will not wonder at the saying "it does not pay to keep hogs because they just eat their heads off."

There are two important points to consider in the raising of hogs for profit. The first is the selection of your breeding stock, and the second is the care and feeding.

SELECTION.

I do not intend to dictate to any one the breed of hogs to keep, but for my own use, I find no breed better than the Poland Chinas. They are very docile, are easily kept, and are ready for market any time after they are four months old, a feature that should not be overlooked by any one. In the selection of a hog avoid one with too heavy a bone, thick hide and a wooly, bristling coat. These characteristics denote slow growth and hard feeding qualities.

What we want is a hog that will grow rapidly and carry enough flesh to be marketable at any time, at the top price. To get a hog of the last named type, there are a few important points to take into consideration. See that it has a nice, smooth, glossy coat of hair, a good medium sized bone and stands nice and straight on its feet; avoid a hog that is narrow between the eyes, with stiff ears, light jowls, long nose and contracted chest. Now, some may say that it is not necessary to note all these points in the selection of a hog, but I will just say that if you expect to raise hogs that will take the eye of the buyer, you cannot be too careful about the points just mentioned.

THE CARE AND FEEDING.

The shelter for hogs need not be expensive, but every one who raises them should be provided with enough shelter to accommodate all his hogs, and have the building so arranged that they will have access to it at all times.

Now, to illustrate this; a farmer is feeding a bunch of hogs out in the open field during the late fall; whenever there is a storm, or it turns cold, the hogs are obliged to take it, which prevents them from fattening, and it also takes an extra amount of feed to even keep them where they were before the storm. On the other hand if they had been provided with shelter they would have done much better, with a great deal less feed. There should be several feed lots near the barn and hog house, so that hogs can be divided into bunches to suit their size, and they can be fed to suit their needs, also, as hogs of different sizes and ages require different kinds of food.

To be certain of good, strong, healthy pigs (which is very essential to success), the care of the brood sow is of vast importance. She should never be confined in close quarters when the weather is fit for her to be out and exercise; she should not be fed much corn, as corn is too heating; instead feed bran mash, parings, a little oil meal occasionally, and just enough corn to supply the necessary fat to keep her in good flesh. Some advocate that brood sows to do well must be thin in flesh; but give me a sow in good flesh, as she will invariably give her pigs a better start than one thin in flesh will.

THE CARE AND FEEDING OF THE PIG UP TO SELLING TIME.

As soon as the pigs are old enough to eat and drink there should be a place prepared for them so that they can be fed by themselves. I have heard men say that in this advanced age, it does not pay to slop pigs, but I say it does. If it can